China once prided itself for its government sponsored ¡°socialized medicine¡± system, in which most Chinese, including urban and rural residents, enjoyed low-priced medical service.

However, when China began economic reforms in the early 1980s, the system was dismantled to ease government burdens and changed to a market-oriented health care system.

Insufficient government funding resulted in deficits for public health institutions, thus opening doors for hospitals to generate their own revenue by raising fees and aggressively selling drugs.

The reform plan clarifies government¡¯s responsibility by saying that it plays a dominant role in providing public health and basic medical service.

¡°Both central and local governments should increase health funding. The percentage of government¡¯s input in total health expenditure should be increased gradually so that the financial burden of individuals can be reduced,¡± the draft said.

The plan listed public health, rural areas, city community health services and basic medical insurance as four key areas for government investment.

The plan also promised to tighten government control over medical fees in public hospitals and to set up a ¡°basic medicine system¡± to quell public complaints of rising drug costs.

The basic medicine system includes a catalogue of necessary drugs that would be produced and distributed under government control and supervision. Its goal is to ensure accessibility to a range of basic medicines and to prevent manufacturers and business people from circumventing existing price controls.

The draft was formulated by a team of officials and experts from 16 departments, including the Ministry of Health and the National Development and Reform Commission.

The draft will be open for public comment until Nov. 14. People can visit the Web site: shs.ndrc.gov.cn/yg to leave suggestions and comments. (Source: Xinhua)